After narrowly falling short of its four-peat of the MAAC, Quinnipiac golf produced four top-five finishes in its four fall tournaments.
Losing the MAAC by three strokes puts in perspective where the team’s mindset is heading into the new season, and head coach John O’Connor has drilled that notion into his team.
“Coach is definitely more determined,” sophomore Samantha Galantini said. “The idea last year was we underestimated our competition. So I definitely think this year, we know that if we have one bad day, then that’s going to have us lose (the) MAAC. We just have to be extra focused and know that it could happen.”
After not being voted the No. 1 spot in last year’s MAAC Preseason Women’s Golf Poll, the Bobcats were voted No. 1 in the MAAC for the upcoming spring season.
“From a team standpoint, we’re all incredibly confident going into the spring season, especially after the tough loss at conference,” junior Sandhya Vaikuntam said. “We know that just because we’re ranked higher than the other teams, that doesn’t mean that we’re automatically going to win.”
With losing two of their mainstays in the lineup — Leeyen Peralta and Aimee Uchida — to graduation, the Bobcats needed to plug in those holes with new faces. The vacated captain spot, which was filled by Peralta, has been passed to Vaikuntam. Despite not playing as much as the former captain, the Eugene, Oregon native has made her presence known to her teammates and O’Connor.
“Sandhya has developed into the leader for the golf team and has taken on the task of leading one of the best golf teams ever to compete for Quinnipiac,” O’Connor wrote in a press release. “Sandhya continues to work hard at practice, in the weight room, and in the classroom, and is the epitome of a team leader.”
To replace the starting spot left by Peralta and Uchida, O’Connor called on freshmen Sophia Fujita and Marisa Flores, who have played in every tournament for the Bobcats this season and have excelled.
“The freshmen have been adjusting really well,” Galantini said. “The first tournament was a little shaky, but then after that, they’ve been doing really well. And I think going into the MAAC Championship, I think a lot of them will be representing our team, and I think it’ll be a good experience for them.”
Fujita has placed in the top 10 and Flores finished in the top 25 in three of the four tournaments in the fall, Boston College, Quinnipiac and Delaware. Fujita’s highest finish was No. 5 at the Quinnipiac Classic and Flores’ highest being No. 15 at Delaware. Their continued success could be attributed to the resources O’Connor provides.
“He’s helped tremendously,” Fujita said. “He’s helped me off the course academically, just in life in general, especially being so far away from home; he’s always been such a great resource.”
Similar to Fujita and Flores, Quinnipiac had its best tournament of the season in Delaware, shooting a combined +18. A top contributor was Galantini topping the scoresheet, finishing No. 3, having the only under-par round for the team in the fall season (-3).
After earning MAAC Rookie of the Year honors last season, Galantini was able to follow her former success with two top-five finishes, with the aforementioned No. 3 at Delaware and No. 5 at the Quinnipiac Classic.
“I think my fall season was pretty good,” Galantini said. “The first tournament was a little shaky, but (the Quinnipiac Classic) and our last tournament were pretty good.”
The success in the fall season however, hasn’t translated to the spring so far. The Bobcats started the spring season in an unfamiliar place, finishing in 11th out of 12 teams at the Columbia Classic, a feat that hasn’t occurred in a regular-season tournament since the Kiawah Island Classic hosted by the College of Charleston in 2019.
Despite that setback Quinnipiac has three tournaments remaining on its schedule, with the Butler Don Benbow Spring Invitational, the Low Country Intercollegiate and the Rutgers Invitational before the MAAC Championships.
The latter looks to be the closest to the MAAC Championships for the Bobcats, with three conference teams in the field that include the University of Albany — who won the MAAC last season — and Fairfield University, who tied with the Bobcats at No. 2.
“I definitely think we’re playing some harder tournaments, better competition to better prepare us,” Galantini said. “The other tournaments we played in the fall are good tournaments, but we’re used to being up there more, so I think this will show us where we rank.”
If the Bobcats are able to hold onto their fall success and don’t “underestimate their competition” like Galantini mentioned, they’ll have a chance to rewrite history.
